Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, honors “individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States,” according to the U.S. House of Representatives. A National Moment of Remembrance is held for one minute at 3 p.m. each Memorial Day. The holiday occurs the last Monday in May and is, traditionally, viewed as the beginning of summer.
AAA predicts 1.9 million Illinois residents will travel over Memorial Day weekend — about 10% less than 2019 — and 92% of them would travel by car.
Since Memorial Day doesn’t occur on the same date each year, the temperature and precipitation values can vary dramatically. So, there aren’t any normal high or low temperatures, or accumulations of rain.
Data is from the National Weather Service’s Chicago office and measured at the city’s official recording site, which has been O’Hare International Airport since Jan. 17, 1980. For almost a century prior to that, sites around downtown Chicago, the University of Chicago and Midway Airport were used to gather the city’s official weather data.
Warmest
Temperatures tend to fall in the 70- to 80-degree range on Memorial Day, according to the National Weather Service.
Chicago experienced its warmest Memorial Day high of 95 degrees twice on May 28 — in 2012 and 2018. Highs in the 90s have been recorded 10 times on Memorial Day since 1873.
Hot weather could have contributed to a melee between Chicago police and striking steelworkers on May 30, 1937, when the high was 89 degrees. Ten demonstrators were killed, another 60 were injured and 40 police officers were also hurt during the “Memorial Day Massacre.”
The coldest high temperature on Memorial Day was 42 degrees on May 30, 1889.
In 2021, the high was 70 degrees.
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Coldest
Low temperatures for Memorial Day holidays can vary widely, according to the National Weather Service.
Chicago experienced its warmest low Memorial Day temperature — 77 degrees — on May 28, 2012. The high that day reached 95 degrees.
The coldest low Memorial Day temperature was 32 degrees on May 25, 1992.
Tribune reporters wrote the cold extended to the Eastern Conference playoff series between the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers: “An ill indoor wind in Richfield, Ohio, meant Bulls shots inexplicably missed the basket …”
In 2021, the low was 54 degrees.
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Wettest
Rain accumulating in more than 1 inch of precipitation has occurred just once since 1873, according to the National Weather Service.
Almost 2 inches of rain fell May 27, 2019 — the wettest Memorial Day in Chicago history.
No rain or just a trace of precipitation has fallen in 97 of the 149 years — 65% — on record.
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Sources: National Weather Service Chicago; Tribune archives and reporting
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